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Keys to Maximizing Productivity
Improvements in technology and employee training & development have fueled staggering
increases in overall productivity since the beginning of the Best Practices Study in 1993. Since
then, revenues-per-employee have jumped from $92,873 to $145,591 for agencies in this revenue
category, an increase of 56.8%. In 1994, the
average commercial lines CSR in this group man-
aged a book of business totaling $295,475.
Today, the average commercial lines CSR is
responsible for a book that averages $383,422, an
increase of 30%. Over this same period, Life &
Health CSRs have seen their average books of
business increase 68%, from $251,793 to
$423,872. Interestingly, personal lines productiv-
ity has not fared so well. In 1994, the average
CSR managed a book of business totaling
$127,033. In this year's Study, the average CSR's
personal lines book totaled only $112,320.
Keys to Achieving a Competitive Advantage
People are also at the center of the issue of developing and maintaining a competitive advantage.
The practice of hiring, developing and empowering excellent employees remains the most-cited
keys to maintain competitive advantage for agencies in this Best Practices group. Beyond this,
other competitive strategies include a heavy focus on niche/target marketing, a constant introduc-
tion of additional products and value-
added services, and a focus on cross-sell-
ing. These strategies pay significant divi-
dends -- account retention results averaged
97.3%, 97.0% and 87.4% for commercial
lines, personal lines, and Life & Health
accounts, respectively. Overall, revenue
growth for these Best Practices agencies
averaged 14.2%.
AGENCIES WITH REVENUES BETWEEN $5,000,000 AND $10,000,000
104
EXECUTIVE
PERSPECTIVES
PROFILE
REVENUES/
EXPENSES
FINANCIAL
STABILITY
EMPLOYEE
OVERVIEW
PRODUCER
INFO
SERVICE
STAFF
INFO
TECHNOLOGY
INSURANCE
CARRIERS
APPENDIX
Keys to Achieving a Competitive Advantage
(Top 5 Listed in Order of Frequency Mentioned)
1. Quality of employees and management team
2. Effective carrier relationships resulting from
growth, expertise
3. Reputation/agency history/community
involvement
4. Niche program knowledge and structure /
target market focus
5. Value added services (loss prevention, risk
management, safety services, etc.)
Keys to Maximizing Productivity
(Top 5 Listed in Order of Frequency Mentioned)
1. Effective use of automation/technology
tools
2. Streamlined processes, procedures,
guidelines, standards
3. Good planning and analysis / goal
setting and monitoring results
4. Goal oriented pay / bonus program
5. Team work